Space Wizard
by Jrf Steel
Summary: Harry was prepared for his next great adventure, that was until he was blessed and cursed by an old friend with immortality. No pairings in mind. Expect slow updates.
1. Chapter 1

**I'm a Space Wizard**

**AN: I've wanted to do a Firefly crossover for a while and only just now got some inspiration, I hope you all enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Firefly/Serenity; they belong to J.K. Rowling and Joss Whedon respectively.**

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**(2514 U-Day)**

"Sir? Any particular reason why it's U-Day and we find ourselves once again in another alliance friendly establishment?"

"Is it Unification Day already? I have to say Zoe, it snuck right up on me." Mal said to his first mate.

"I'm sure it did sir." Zoe deadpanned back even as she emptied the bottle of whiskey they were sharing into their two shot glasses.

The two former Browncoats lifted their glasses in a silent salute to their fallen comrades. Mal took the empty bottle from the table and walked up to the bar to exchange it for a full one. He saw the barman was speaking to someone in a long black hooded coat.

"I'm looking for work; you know anyone with a need for a jack of all trades on their ship?"

"Sorry friend, this is more of a local haunt for miners and farmers, you might wanna try nearer to the port, could have better luck there."

"Thanks friend" the man said and took a pull of his beer.

"Barkeep, gonna need another one of these." Mal said waving the empty bottle in front of him.

"Coming right up"

"Happy Alliance Day! Drinks are on me!" a boisterous voice exclaimed.

A round of deafening cheers greeted the exclamation. Mal turned in the direction where the loudest voices were and saw a man in his late 30s with thinning brown hair receiving enthusiastic pats on the back with a big grin on his face. As the guy walked up to the bar, he wedged him-self between Mal and the customer in the hooded coat.

"Dooley, everyone gets a shot of whiskey!"

Another round of cheers and back slapping was the answer to this proclamation. The barkeeper slapped a shot glass down in front of the money man and poured him a shot, he set a glass in front of the guy in the black trench but a hand placed on top of the glass halted him from pouring that sacred brown liquid. This action did not go unnoticed; the cheerful atmosphere was quickly replaced with thick tension.

"What's your problem friend, you too good for a free drink or are you a Browncoat sympathizer?" Mr. Money asked.

"I don't have a problem with the Alliance or Browncoats; I'm just not drinking whiskey today." The voice was a baritone of indeterminate age with a slight accent that Mal couldn't place.

"Now look here, I swore an oath to by a round for anyone in any bar I walked into on U-Day. I swore to hoist it up to the Alliance for running those Browncoats off with their tails between their legs. I won't be having any refusals" he snatched the bottle from the barman and slammed it on the hardwood next to the strangers elbow "You're going to drink and that's that."

"How about a compromise? You want to pay for my drink, you can buy my beer, but I already told you, I'm not drinking whiskey today." Trench coat said in a flat tone.

"I'm not buying beer, I'm buying whiskey!" The money man said getting belligerently.

"You're going to buy yourself a trip to a med-ward if you keep pushing."

"Listen here you son of a bitch!"

"What was that?" the man in black interrupted. "What did you just call me?" Trench coat asked softy.

Mr. Money blinked in confusion. "I called you a son of a bitch, what exactly are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to break your jaw because I loved my parents very much and then just to be a dick I'm going to take your money."

It was fast…too fast for anyone in the bar including Mal to see the punch coming. One second the money man was standing tall and proud, the next second his head was whipped over to the side and his jaw looked like it had been unhinged. The money man hit the floor in slow motion; the only thing missing was someone yelling _"Timber!"_

Shouts of surprise and outrage were just as loud as the earlier shouts of joy. The crowd started advancing on the man in black with angry grumbles. They stopped all movement when the trench -coat wearing fella swept aside his lapels and displayed a Callahan MP 12 Submachine gun hanging from a strap under his right arm. After making sure everyone got a good look at his artillery the man quickly rifled through the fallen man's pockets and came up with a pouch that jangled with platinum, he then calmly walked out the doors without a second look back.

Mal looked back and forth between the fallen Alliance enthusiast and the mystery man going for the exit. "Zoe!"

"Yes Captain"

Mal yelped in surprise when his second in command spoke from directly behind him, he spun around and glared into the amused brown eyes of his closest friend. "How many times I have to tell you not to do that?"

"Sorry Captain; won't happen again." Zoe said holding back a smile.

"That's what you said last time. Come on lets go." Mal said leading the way out of the bar. There wasn't a whole lot of hustle and bustle going on outside so spotting his target was easy. In a few jogging steps he was close enough to speak without shouting. "Yo pal mind if I have a word?"

The figure stopped and cocked his head to the side but did not turn around. "Was that man a friend of yours?"

"Never seen him before, I over-heard you earlier. I got some work for a jack of all trades if you're interested."

The person hesitated briefly before fully turning around. The first thing that Mal took notice of was the eyes, not the color but the fact that they were old eyes set in a young face, Mal felt Zoe tense next to him, she must have noticed the same thing. He saw eyes like that a lot after the war. "I'm Captain Malcolm Reynolds, this here is Zoe Washburn my second in command" Zoe inclined her head slightly but stayed silent. "That's a genuine offer of employment."

Harry pulled the hood from his head. "I'm Harry Potter, you mind talking specifics over a drink?"

Mal smiled out of one side of his face "I know the perfect place."

A few hours later Mal, Zoe and Harry boarded Serenity with a slight wobble in their steps and sharing 4 loose teeth, two black eyes, a bleeding but unbroken nose and 4 bruised ribs between them. They were met on the ramp by the ships pilot who also doubled as Zoe's worried husband Wash; they were also met by the ships mechanic Kaylee.

"_Ta ma de!_ Mal, why is it you bring my wife back home bleeding and half-drunk again?" Wash said guiding Zoe to the mule to take a seat.

"Sorry Wash, I was just reprimanding her on bobbing when she should have weaved."

"Not funny" he said.

"Take it easy Husband, this is nothing compared to the other guys." Zoe said with a bloody grin

"_Wuh de ma_" Wash said miserably.

"Captain you're being awfully rude, who's your new friend?" Kaylee said with an infectious smile.

"This here is Harry; he's going to be our new shipmate. Harry this is Kaylee, she's the reason Serenity runs like brand new. Why don't you show him to an empty bunk and we'll make the formal introductions in a bit." Mal said to Kaylee.

"Don't mind if I do. Come with me" Kaylee said smiling over at the handsome man with the enchanting green eyes.

"I'm right behind you; see you in a few Captain." Harry followed the cheerful girl further into the ship.

"You know Wash, the faster you get us off the ground and into atmo, the faster you can tend to your misses."

"That's emotional blackmail!"

Harry laughed softly to him-self as the voices faded the further he walked away from them.

"So where you from stranger?" Kaylee asked.

"I've been hopping from planet to planet for as long as I can remember. Sometimes it seems as if I'm from nowhere and everywhere." Harry said.

"You got anybody that's missing you?" Kaylee asked she stopped by a door punched in a code on the keypad next to the portal. The doors split open with a whoosh a Kaylee led the way inside.

Harry stepped into the room, he dropped his only piece of luggage on the bed, it was a large military style duffle bag. "My folks died when I was young, I got no other family worth mentioning."

"Oh gosh, me and my big mouth, I'm sorry for bringing up something so painful." Kaylee and for the first time the smile left her face.

"It was a long time ago and I've made my piece with it. Do me a favor and start smiling again, I feel terrible for making you lose your beautiful smile." Harry said walking up to her.

Kaylees smile was back in full force along with a fine red blush on her cheeks. "Thank you Harry; that was kind of you to say."

"Nothing kind about it, I meant it; you have a beautiful smile Kaylee." He said walking up to her.

Kaylee unconsciously backed up against the inner wall of Harry's new room.

"Am I making you nervous Kaylee?" Harry asked stopping only inches from her.

"No, nervous is exactly what I'm _not_ feeling right now." Kaylee said breathlessly.

Harry's mouth descended upon Kaylee's at the same time his doors whooshed closed.

**(2519)**

Harry stayed on Serenity for just over a year, his relationship with Kaylee ended on good terms, the same with the rest of the Serenity crew. After leaving the crew on Persephone 4 years back, Harry trekked all over the Verse from Core planets to the Rim. He checked his Navigational computer and checked his position, he saw he was close to his destination, right in the middle of a clutch of Border planets, he aimed his boat towards a half civilized moon called Hercules.

He glanced around at all the blinking lights on the console when he saw what the date was _July 31 2519_. _"Well Hell, Happy Birthday to me."_ Harry thought to him-self.

"_**Happy Birthday Harry, how old are you?"**_

The voice was deep, cultured and Harry was well accustomed to hearing it in his head by now.

"539 years young." He answered.

"_**Still a babe in the woods compared to me."**_

"Who isn't a child compared to you Fawkes?" Harry asked. "So is this the year you finally tell me why you did what you did?" Harry turned his head as a brilliant light flared up to his right. There floating next to him was Fawkes, almost completely unchanged in appearance except for the fact that he had no corporeal body. He just floated there ghost-like in appearance. It was over 400 years ago almost to the day that the majestic bird descended upon Harry's death bed and somehow bestowed his magic upon the dying wizard.

At a hundred plus years of age Harry had been bedridden for a few years from an accumulated wealth of injuries and curses he received from various points in his life. As he lay in bed slowly withering away, Fawkes appeared out of nowhere and then without as much as a by your leave he turned him-self into pure magic and bound him-self to Harry. Harry woke up a week later, his white hair was once again black as night, his muscle were once again strong and taut and even without getting up from his bed he knew he could move around without hearing the creaking and cracking of old bones.

"**As I've told you the first time you asked me and every time after that, it was for purely selfish reasons that I bonded myself to you. The world was dying; I knew the humans were leaving it behind. I felt your life force slipping away and I figured it was a good way to go on an adventure, now look where we are, out in the black of the universe. It was as simple as that."**

'_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!'_

The proximity alarm going off made Harry pay closer attention to the controls and his landing procedures, "Well after all these years I still don't believe that. Four hundred and some odd years together and I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"**Well you can stop waiting. I didn't save you so you could recreate the magical world or discover some lost civilization; I'm just along for the ride."**

Harry didn't bother to respond to that, he set his transport in the dock and cut the engines. He craned his head to speak to Fawkes directly. "How does one celebrate their 539th birthday anyway?"

"**Well if I remember correctly, I spent the day chasing this beautiful chocolate brown Earth Phoenix all over the world…"**

"Fawkes! I do not want to hear about any of your freaky bird sex." Harry said with a grimace.

"**Come on Harry! I know all about your freaky human sex. The least you can do is humor me now and again."**

"The only reason you know about my freaky human sex is because you choose the worse times to awaken your consciousness within my head. Which I think you do on purpose most of the time." Harry said giving the ethereal bird the evil eye before pushing away from the controls and moving out of the pilot's chair. It was a short walk through his Wren-class light transport-ship; before Harry dropped the ramp, Fawkes' ethereal form coalesced into a bright orange ball of magic and hit Harry directly in the chest. He ignored the warm sensation that spread through his body at the Phoenix's return.

"_Fawkes do you think the Serenity got my wave?" _ Harry asked the Phoenix.

"_**It's only been a couple of days, give it some time. Meanwhile we have a birthday to celebrate, where to first a brothel or a bar?" **_**Fawkes asked him.**

**(With the crew of Serenity)**

"So who's this guy you're reversing course to go meet Mal?" Jayne asked his captain as the majority of the crew sat around the dining room table.

"Harry's an old crew member who parted from us after about a year. He called him-self a jack of all trades and he wasn't lying." Mal said cutting up an apple.

"It's true; Wash said he was one of the best natural flyers he'd ever seen." Zoe chimed in.

"He could even hold his own in the engine room with me." Kaylee said from her spot snuggled into Simon's side.

"Anyway we went our separate ways, what 4 years back? Lost touch until he sent that wave to meet him on Hercules." Mal said.

"What's he like?" Inara asked.

"He's a bit of a mystery, but he and Wash got on like they were separated at birth." Zoe answered.

"Never talked much about his past, but he could be counted on, never had to worry about turning my back to him." Mal followed up.

"Sounds like a real boy scout." Jayne said.

"Cap'n, you got another wave from that Harry person." River's voice echoed through the com system.

"Put him through _mei-mei_."

Mal turned to the vid screen directly behind. As soon as he was facing it, Harry's familiar face appeared. He looked unchanged by time, still had those ancient eyes and that wild hair.

"Mal! How the hell are ya?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Harry it's been too long."

"It damn sure has, Zoe, Kaywin you're both looking well." Harry said looking at each.

Kaylee didn't answer right away just smiled and waved at her ex-lover. She felt Simon stiffen as soon as Harry called her Kaywin which in the history of her life the only people to do so were her parents when they were angry.

"You're looking healthy Harry, what warrants the blast from the past?" Zoe asked.

"It gets lonely out in the Verse, was wondering if you needed a jack of all trades aboard Serenity?" Harry spoke to Mal.

"Even though you only spent a year with us, you proved yourself a member of this crew, you're welcomed anytime Harry." Mal said.

"That's good to hear. How close to Hercules are you?"

"Two hours, nine minutes and thirteen seconds away." River answered from the doorway of the kitchen.

"Okay that was oddly specific, meet me at House Aphrodite when you get in, I'll be waiting for you." Harry said and with a jaunty salute the screen went blank.

"Uh Kay_lee_ just how close were you and this Harry guy?" Simon asked his girlfriend.

"You and Harry? When did that happen?" Mal asked looking at his clearly uncomfortable mechanic.

"The entire time he was on the ship sir." Zoe said dryly.

"Really?" Mal asked looking confused.

"Can we not talk about my love life in front of the entire crew please Cap'n?" Kaylee said.

"I'd like to talk about something." Jayne said. When all eyes turned on him, he pointed back over his shoulder at River, who still stood in the doorway staring at the blank vid screen. "If she's here who's flying the boat?"

There was a mass of wide eyed looks shared around the room before Mal made a mad dash towards the cock pit. _"Tzoa goa!"_ he shouted as he ran.

It was over two later when Mal, Jayne, Kaylee and Zoe disembarked from the mule outside of House Aphrodite. Simon, River and Inara chose to stay behind. Simon on account of not wanting to witness a reunion between Kaylee and her ex, River and Inara stayed back for reasons they chose not to give to anyone.

The motley crew entered and was greeted immediately by a woman with golden blonde hair and forest green eyes. She moved towards the group with a flowing grace as if she was floating and a welcoming smile. "Welcome to House Aphrodite, I am Madame Rosalyn, how may I be of assistance?"

"_Nee haoww_, we're just here to meet a friend, young fella, green eyes, and wild hair?"  
Mal described.

"Hmm yes Harry" Madame Rosalyn said before her eyes briefly took on a vacant look.

Kaylee knew what that look meant and could only smile and shake her head.

Madame Rosalyn blinked rapidly as she returned to the present. Her welcoming smile turned a little said "Most of us were so sad to hear that he would be leaving soon."

"Most of you? Shiny! I think I may like this guy." Jayne said with a perverted grin.

"He is in a private room in the back; please follow." Madame Rosalyn said.

The residents of Serenity were led through a tea parlor decorated in a royal purple motif. It was a quiet trek except for Jayne who let loose an appreciative whistle whenever he saw a particularly fetching female. Eventually they wound up at a solid oak door with the word privacy front and center.

"Here you are, if you would please remind Harry that it would be the epitome of rudeness to leave without saying good bye first." Madame Rosalyn said with a charming smile before floating away.

"Aiya! This guy is going to be my new hero." Jayne declared.

Mal knocked on the door, when he heard a muffled _"Qing jin"_ he pushed the door in.

It was obviously a room reserved for V. , king size bed, a private bar, a plush suede couch off to the side of the room and sitting at a small round table built for two was Harry strumming an acoustic guitar.

It's all the same, only the names will change  
Every day it seems we're wasting away  
Another place where the faces are so cold  
I'd drive all night just to get back home

I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride  
I'm wanted dead or alive  
Wanted dead or alive

Harry sang as everyone filed in, he stopped strumming his guitar and smiled at his old friends. "Man you lot a sight for sore eyes…except for you; I've never seen you before a day in my life." Harry said looking blandly at Jayne.

"I'm your new disciple; teach me how to sex up all those whores." Jayne said eagerly.

Harry raised a single black eyebrow and stared at the man. He turned to Mal. "Translation?"

"Ignore him he's talking _fei hua_, but you look good Harry." Mal said approaching Harry with n out stretched hand.

Harry clasped the captain's hand firmly, he repeated the gesture with Zoe and Jayne but he pulled Kaylee in to a bone crushing hug.

"So you two were really _together_ back then?" Mal asked flabbergasted that he missed it.

"Uh yeah, didn't exactly hide it as far as I know. You didn't notice how much down time we spent together?" Harry asked as he stepped away from Kaylee and went to the mini fridge next to the bed. He grabbed something out of the fridge and also picked up two more wrapped parcels sitting on top. "I have a few gifts for you guys."

"Kaywin, this is for you." Harry said holding out the package he took from the fridge.

It was a stainless steel bowl with a foil top. Kaylee peeled the top back and squealed in a decibel only dogs could hear. She turned the bowl to show the others that it was filled completely with strawberries. "Oh. Harry they're beautiful."

Harry turned to Zoe and his expression went from happy to somber. "When I heard about Wash, I would have contacted you sooner but giving condolences to a friend over a wave didn't seem like a decent thing to do." Harry handed Zoe a package wrapped in black silk and tied together with a piece of gold ribbon.

The silk fell away to reveal a black bottle with the only thing to identify it as the most expensive whiskey in the Verse was a picture of a stalk of wheat outlined in gold.

"What I can do is help you empty this bottle and toast the best damn pilot in the Verse as well as a good damn friend."

"I'd like that Harry; Wash always said he lost a brother when you left the ship." Zoe said softly.

"I wish I'd known that, I would have stuck around a lot longer. Cap'n, I would have looked you up sooner but it took me a while to finish a task. This is for you." Harry held out the last parcel, it was also wrapped in silk, but it was long and cylindrical and it was tied together with a piece of twine.

Mal pulled the string and the silk fell away to reveal something he hadn't laid eyes on in over a year. He looked Harry straight in the eyes in complete understanding.

"It took quite a while to find him but I did."

"A sword? Someone stole your sword Mal?" Jayne asked.

"No, it belongs to that operative that chased us all over the Verse and destroyed Haven." Mal said staring down at the thing.

"It _used_ to belong to him, he don't need it where he is."

**AN: What do you think? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Space Wizard**

**AN: First let me thank everyone for the wonderful reviews I got a great response for chapter one. A few reviewers asked me about pairings, like I said before; I don't have my mind set on a girl for Harry. I'm open to suggestions, the pickings are extremely slim but I will take your suggestions into consideration. River, Zoe or Kaylee (I'm still sore at Simon for that stunt he pulled when Kaylee got shot at the beginning of the series) Inara and Mal will eventually pull their heads out of their collective asses and hook up. Okay now on with the show.**

**Disclaimer: Joss Whedon is a genius, J.K. Rowling ain't so bad, and they both own Firefly/Serenity and Harry Potter respectively.**

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**(Unnamed Rim Planet)**

_The two warriors stood across each other silently. They eyed each other with the flat empty gazes of veterans and with sure knowledge that the upcoming fight was going to be to the death. _

_One combatant stood at 6'2, solidly built with dark skin, black hair and he was dressed in all black with a sword sheathed on his back with the handle hanging over his right shoulder. "Are you an assassin or a bounty hunter?"_

_His opponent was of similar height, slimmer but not scrawny, pale skin, shoulder length black hair. He was also dressed in black with a sword sheathed at his left hip; a silver jeweled handle was visible. "Neither, I'm here to kill you for one of the oldest reasons known to man...revenge. I had friends at Haven, people who didn't want anything from anybody. People who just wanted to raise a family grow old and hopefully die surrounded by that family; you cheated them out of that growing old part."_

"_I see" the former Alliance operative said as he reached for the sword on his back, "I guess there is no more need for words are there?"_

"_Not unless you want to say a prayer." Harry said unsheathing his blade and charging forward. _

_Sparks flew from the initial clash of blades as steel met steel. What felt like 60 minutes of a furious flurry of swinging swords was truly only 60 seconds of the two combatants testing each-others defenses looking for weaknesses. Now they stepped back and eyed one another as they slowly circled each other._

_Harry moved first, he darted in with a powerful upward slash designed to knock the enemy's sword off balance. The operative side stepped the slash and thrust his sword forward aimed at Harry's heart. The green eyed wizard parried the thrust with his own sword then stepped inside his opponents guard and delivered a shoulder block into his opponents sternum followed by a head butt to the forehead._

_Harry would have pressed his advantage but the wild swipes of the staggering operative's sword kept him at bay. Once the operative was focused again he walked forward cautiously, once he was in range a swift overhead strike was his first move followed immediately with a horizontal swipe. Harry side stepped the first move and countered the second by rolling beneath the swing and slashing backwards as he came back to his feet. He felt his blade slice into the tendons behind the knee of his enemy. Spinning around to face Harry saw the operative was down on one knee trying to regain his balance but it was a futile effort. Harry was on him in a second._

_The operative was still down on one knee and a desperate swing at Harry's own knees was blocked effortlessly by Harry's sword and a quick kick to the downed man's wrist had his blade sliding along the ground and out of his reach._

_The operative bowed his head in resignation "I've been anticipating and dreading this moment." He said softly._

_Harry stood in front of the bowed man "Do you need a moment?"_

_The operative raised his head and looked Harry in the eye "Finish it"_

_Without a second thought, Harry thrust his sword into the operative's heart. There was a painful grunt and a brief widening of his eyes before the operative slowly fell to his side dead._

_Harry silently cleaned the sword of Gryffindor and sheathed it at his side. He summoned the sheath from the operative's back as well as the fallen sword before conjuring up _Fiendfyre _and burning the body to ashes. Once the fire had done its job with a wave of his hand Harry scattered the ashes to the wind and then walked away without looking back._

**(End of Flashback)**

"And that's how I got that sword." Harry explained to Mal and Zoe. It was just the three of them now in Harry's private room. Jayne left soon after arriving; he went to try his luck with the women of House Aphrodite. Kaylee soon followed, she left carrying her stash of strawberries like it was gold.

As soon as the doors closed behind her, the first thing Mal wanted to know was how he got that sword.

Zoe and Mal swallowed their whiskey and shook their heads in amazement at what they just heard. When Harry went to the bar to grab another bottle of whiskey, Mal and Zoe shared a look and spoke without actual words.

'_How the hell did he track down someone that isn't supposed to exist?' _ Mal's eyes asked.

'_I don't know sir, Harry always had his ways.' _ Zoe eyed back.

'_Before meeting that operative I wouldn't have asked but do you think Harry may be government trained?'_

'_Not possible _Captain_. When we first met him he had nothing to gain by joining up with us.' _Zoe scolded back with narrow eyes.

Mal softened his eyes _'I'm not saying he is still a government man or ever was, just that he was trained by them like River.'_

'_Its…possible sir, we don't know much of his past. But all the same I trust him regardless of his past.'_

'_So do I, he's part of a close knit group of people I like to refer to as friends.' _Mal and Zoe cut of their eye talk when Harry came back with another bottle. "Let's take that to go; I don't like to stay on the dirt of any Alliance friendly planet any longer than I have to."

"I got to make one stop in the port office then we're on our way." Harry said, he went over to a mahogany wardrobe and threw the doors open and started strapping on his weapons. On his right hip he placed a holstered old tech .45 auto, he placed a matching .45 in the small of his back so he could draw it left handed if he needed to. Then he put on an over the shoulder knife harness that held a knife under each armpit. The last thing he pulled from the wardrobe was a black leather coat that fell to the back of his knees, it had an orange and red bird made of fire with outstretched wings emblazoned on the back. Then Harry went over to the bed scooped up his duffle from the floor and grabbed his guitar. He looked back at a patiently waiting Mal and Zoe, "Ready when you are."

A half hour later Mal, Harry, Zoe and Jayne were driving the mule up Serenity's ramp loaded with crates from Harry's old ship.

As soon as Harry's feet touched down inside the ship he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, he hadn't realized how much he missed the smell of the place. It was one of the few places he would or could gladly call home after so many years. When he opened his eyes he was staring into two smiling faces and some guy giving him the evil eye. One of the smiling faces was of course Kaylee. The other was a beauty as well; trim figure, silky black hair, sparkling dark eyes and an easy smile. The guy eyeing him looked to be in his late 20s early 30s with short brown hair and slender frame.

"Harry come over and meet a couple of members of the crew. First up is a real spit fire, Inara Serra of House Madrassa, Inara this is Harry Potter." Mal said and gave Inara a mocking bow.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Serra" Harry said shaking her hand "Oh Mal a companion, say it ain't so, did you go and get legit on me of worse yet, respectable?"

"Oh I don't think you have to worry about that anytime soon when it comes to Mal." Inara said with a cold smile in the Captains direction. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter."

"Call me Harry, Mr. Potter makes me sound like an old man." Harry said with a warm smile.

'_**Ha! You're old enough to be her ancestor.' **_

'_And you're old enough to see the last Dodo Bird walk off the cliff so can it with the age jokes.'_

Inara returned the smile, "Call me Inara"

"You better be careful Inara, Harry had a whole House full of whores boohooing cause he was leaving em behind." Jayne said as he hefted one of Harry's crates off the mule.

Inara's eyes widened slightly but before she could make a comment Mal jumped back in the conversation. "Anyway Harry, the fella staring daggers through your skull is the ship's Doctor, Simon Tam, Doc, Harry Potter."

Harry could tell by the way the guy was standing almost protectively in front of Kaylee that the reason for his animosity was because of his and Kaylee's previous status as lovers. _'Oh well just going to have win him over with the Potter charm.'_ "Nice to meet you Dr. Tam." Harry said sticking his hand out. When the Doc grabbed his hand he put a little more pressure into it than Harry thought was necessary.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Potter, call me Dr. Tam." Simon said firmly.

Harry smiled back easily "Not a problem."

"Harry he's just funning, you can call him Simon." Kaylee said discreetly elbowing her boyfriend in the side.

"Wasn't that entertaining" Mal said looking between the love triangle. "There's only one more person for you to meet and she's around here somewhere. Ah! I hear the pitter patter of tiny feet in huge combat boots."

Everyone turned to the sound of rapidly approaching heavy steps. River darted out of the dark corridor leading to the docking bay, she weaved through haphazardly stacked crates and before anyone could squawk in surprise she launched herself at Harry.

Harry caught her by reflex, she wrapped her arms tight around his neck and buried her face against his chest and then hung their like a barnacle. Harry looked around at the gaping and astounded faces and he was sure his face looked the same.

"_Aiya!_ You have got to teach me how to do that!" Jayne said effectively breaking through the shock and awe.

"Uh Harry, have you two met?"

Harry mutely shook his head from side to side as much as the girl's arms would allow.

"Well then River that's Harry, Harry that's River."

A muffled 'Hi' came from Harry's new chest ornament.

"Hi to you too…I guess."

"_Wu de ma!_ River what are you doing?" Simon screeched.

River turned her head so she could be heard clearly. "He's warm and quiet, I like it here. I think I'll stay."

Simon stared speechless at his sister.

"River honey, I don't think Harry would appreciate it if you staked a claim on him like a camp ground. That kind of thing usually involves some form of courting." Zoe said with a smile.

"Cour…courting? There will be no courting!" Simon yelled.

"Doc you best take a seat, you're getting purple." Jayne tossed out.

"Okay how about we all calm down and save this for when we're up in the air? River, get us in the atmo. And everybody else I'm sure there's something you can do to occupy yourselves." Mal said.

Harry sat the girl on her feet and she reluctantly loosened her hold from around his neck. Before releasing him fully she rubbed her face along Harry's chest one last time. "I'm taking some of your fire with me." She whispered.

"Okay…your welcome?" Harry said bewildered.

River calmly walked out of the docking bay with a serene smile on her face, she was quickly followed by Simon who sent Harry a warning glare over his shoulder before hurrying to catch up with and question River.

"So what was that bit of weirdness?" Harry asked nobody in general.

"Okay Harry you remember the routine from last time don't you?" Mal said purposely ignoring the question. "Find an empty bunk and unload your stuff."

"As soon as River gets us in the air we're going to have a pow-wow in the dining area." Zoe said over her shoulder as she followed Mal out of the docking bay.

"So we just going to ignore that are we?" Harry shouted after them. He turned to a still there Jayne.

"You gonna tell me how you got all them whores to like you or not?" Jayne asked stubbornly.

Harry scrubbed his hands up and down his face in exaggeration. He grabbed his duffle, his guitar and a large silver briefcase and went to find himself an empty room.

**(Three Days Later)**

As Mal finished his morning routine he had an overwhelming feeling of contentment. His ship was floating in the black; his crew was safe and happy…or relatively happy. And when he left his bunk he followed his nose to the dining area. He stopped just inside the door. This was another reason he was happy to have Harry back on board aside from having another gun hand and pilot, set out on the table was a large bowl of scrambled eggs, home fries and a plate of steaks and all around the table was his crew chowing down without him. "What do you think you're doing? As Captain of this crew I should have been told whenever Harry cooks anything." Mal joked hurrying to his seat and filling his own plate.

Mal dug in with gusto, savoring every bit. When he couldn't fit anymore in his mouth he was forced to eventually chew and swallow. All around the table were sounds of appreciation, even Jayne was so engrossed with the food he sat and ate quietly. Mal was reaching for the home fries for another helping when he noticed the gourmet wasn't at the table. "Where's Harry, he should be here to enjoy this."

"He ate already, said he was going back to his bunk to get cleaned up." Inara volunteered.

Mal nodded and looked around the table at all the happy faces before stopping at one non happy face. "Hey Doc, everything okay over there?" he asked looking at the bowl of gray oatmeal Simon was eating.

"Simon refused to eat what Harry made. He's being a stubborn idiot, but that's okay I ate his steak for him." Kaylee said with a smile sitting next to her beau.

"You don't know what you're missing Doc, I haven't had anything this good since I left home." Jayne said grabbing the bowls of eggs and the plate of steaks.

"He wasn't kidding when he called himself a jack of all trades was he?" Inara asked no one in particular.

"Naw, he flew us out of some tough spots a time or two, been done in the bowels patching Serenity up and he's been on the ground on the job with me and Zoe." Mal told them.

"Hmph! doesn't he sound perfect?" Simon said while eating his oatmeal and looking at the surrounding plates with envy.

Mal was staring up and down the corridor, he turned back to the table "So Doc, while I got you here did River give any reason for her enthusiastic greeting?"

Simon went slightly red around the jawline as he ground his molars at the memory off his _mei-mei_ being held in that man's arms. "All she tells me is that he's warm and quiet and she likes it and that's all. She follows him around all the time and I don't like it."

"I don't blame you Doc; if I had a sister I wouldn't want her trailing after Harry either. Some of dem girls he left behind were bow legged." Jayne said standing up from the table and leaving a bunch of gaping mouths in his wake.

"Something is wrong with him." Inara said watching Jayne's fading back.

"What did you ever see in him?" Simon suddenly asked turning to Kaylee.

"Simon" Kaylee stressed his name in a warning tone.

"No really, I want to know what it was that you saw in him." The Doc pressed.

"You don't see it because you're a guy. You guys know what I'm talking about right?" Kaylee addressed the two women across from her.

"Oh yes definitely, If I wasn't attached to Wash heart and soul I would have snatched him up when he first came aboard 4 years ago." Zoe confirmed sipping from her coffee cup.

Inara was nodding her head. "He has a very powerful presence."

Simon was looking back and forth between the women.

Mal kept his eyes on his plate and food in his mouth.

"Those eyes suck you in from the start." Kaylee said.

"That smile holds you in place." Inara said.

"And his intelligence makes you surrender." Zoe said.

"But it wasn't just that though," Kaylee said speaking directly to Zoe and Inara. "He's funny, he listens and he's romantic. He has such a power that pulls on you like gravity. He's a leader, reminds me of the Cap'n."

The trio of women and one man turned to look at Mal who was caught like a deer in the headlights with a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth.

"Sometimes" Kaylee muttered.

**(Harry's Room)**

"You don't have to lurk in the doorway; I'm not exactly the shy type." Harry said. He was stripped to the waist in a pair of black cargo pants shaving.

"It's the quietest around you. Not so many different thought coming and going through my head." River said walking tentatively into the room.

"Yeah, you're a reader and I'm shielding my thoughts." Harry said taking the razor over his top lip scraping of the last of the shaving cream.

"You're doing it on purpose? Can you teach me to do that?"

"No guarantee it's going to work but we can give it a try." Harry bent over the sink and splash water in his face to wash away the residual shaving cream. When he looked up into the mirror River was staring intently at his back from only a couple of steps away.

"What do they mean?" she asked pointing at his back.

"On my left shoulder, the lily is for my mother who was named after it. Next to that is a hoof print that represents my father. On my right shoulder the paw print with the claws is for my uncle and the paw print next to it without the claws is for my godfather." Harry said describing his tattoos, the Rest in Peace portion beneath each one was self-explanatory.

"What about the other ones?" she asked.

"I'll explain those another time." Harry said throwing on a gray long john shirt, he tucked the shirt into his pants and then pulled up his suspenders over his shoulders. Out of habit he placed a gun on his right hip and a knife high up on his left thigh. "I'm going to have to know you longer than 3 days before I tell you all my secrets." He said with a teasing grin.

River made an attempt to smile back, but it was forced and probably looked more like a grimace. "I heard the Captain say you only stayed for a year last time. Are you staying longer this time around?"

"That's the plan and speaking of the Cap'n, I have to go and have a conversation with him about something." Harry said and led her out of his bunk and back to the dining area.

River followed after Harry basking silently in his circle of silence that his shielded mind provided. River dreaded to the marrow of her bones Harry's arrival. When he first came aboard she felt his presence immediately. Her already psychic ability coupled with what those 'hands of blue' people did to her brain she could feel every emotion and hear every thought all throughout Serenity 24/7. It is unbelievably exhausting both physically and emotionally being on guard every waking moment. Flying helps distract her brain but whenever she's not in the cockpit she's in the bowels of Serenity curled in a dark corner counting from one to infinity in Tobrik to drown out the cauldron of loose thoughts from the rest of the crew.

But as soon as Harry came aboard there was an immediate blank spot, no stray thoughts, emotionally he projected a feeling of protectiveness and contentment. By the time she realized she was being held in his strong arms she didn't even care, she had surrounded herself in his circle of silence as she liked to call it and was prepared to stay there indefinitely.

They arrived at the dining area where all eyes turned to them.

"Good morning all." Harry said taking the nearest seat. River sat next to him without hesitating as if she had been doing it for years.

"Hey Harry. I see you haven't lost your touch around a skillet." Mal said raising his coffee cup in salute. "Thanks for breakfast."

The sentiment was shared all around the table.

Jayne walked in just then, scribbling furiously in a spiral notebook. "Hey, Harry do you cook for all the ladies you bed or just for the really pretty ones?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking notes on you. Don't be stingy fella; you can't keep all the secrets on how to land all dem gals to yourself." Jayne marched over to the table sat himself in the chair on Harry's left side. "Hell man, you even had the buzz-saw snuggled up to you and you weren't on the ship for five minutes."

All eyes went to River who had light dusting of red spreading across her cheeks.

"Anyway Cap'n, I was wondering if you're in the mood to take a job?" Harry asked.

Mal raised an eyebrow. "You got work for us?"

"Not me, but you remember, Big Dave Fish?"

"Yeah he works under Monty right?"

"Not anymore, he met a nice girl and decided to settle planet side. He has got a small horse farm on Balboa. But he's also looking to get into management." Harry said.

"What's management?" Simon asked.

"Means he's looking to be a middleman." Zoe offered.

"A middleman is someone who brokers out jobs for a fee." Kaylee further explained at Simon's confused look.

"What's the job?" Mal asked getting back on track.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, "We have to talk to him in person."

Mal nodded slowly, "Balboa's not that far out, if you push it we can get there before the days done. Head to the pilots chair and point us in the right direction."

"You got it Cap'n." Harry stood and was mirrored by River.

Simon bit his lip and held his tongue knowing that the harder he pushed the more stubborn River would get.

"Kaylee make sure Serenity is flying at peak, Doc head to infirmary make sure we're stocked up on med supplies. Zoe, Jayne you two inventory your equipment it appears were on a job hunt. Okay everyone else go ahead about your business." Mal said the last part with a grin towards Inara before walking out.

Inara restrained herself from screeching at Mal like a fishwife, but she did glare at his back as he walked away. "That man can be so infuriating." Inara said through gritted teeth.

"Come on you can help me count my bullets." Zoe offered.

Hours later Mal and Harry were walking down the ramp of Serenity after landing in a dusty pasture near a single story farm house.

"Wait a second, I'm coming with you."

"Think again Doc. This ain't your scene." Mal said.

"Now hold on, you've used me for jobs before." Simon argued.

"Yeah and if I remembered correctly you refused to participate in anymore criminal activity. Why the sudden interest?" Mal asked even though he had a pretty good idea where this foolhardy idea came from courtesy of the earlier conversation at the breakfast table.

"What's it matter Mal, he's going to hear anyways, doesn't matter if it's first hand or second." Harry butted in.

"Alright fine, but Doc, this guy we're going to talk to, he's a little out there. He has his own way of speaking and doing things. These negotiations can take 5 minutes or 5 hours. Follow our lead," Mal said gesturing towards him and Harry "And if you can't think of what to say it's better to say nothing."

So the three walked the dusty trek to the single story home, they were met halfway by a giant of a man who easily hefted a mini-gun in one hand. He was six and a half feet tall, 300 lbs. of muscle, dark skinned with a shaved head he could be anywhere from 25 to 50. He didn't speak just nodded in greeting and motioned for them to follow him to his home.

The interior was a cool contrast to the heat of outside. The living room was sparse but not barren and smelled of fresh wood polish.

Big Dave led the Serenity crew to a round wooden table and gestured for them all to sit. He sat his mini-gun on the floor and got 4 beers out of his fridge and set them in front of his guest. They spent 5 minutes nursing their beers before Big Dave finally spoke.

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." He said in a deep voice. **(1)**

Mal and Harry laughed and raised their beers in a toast that Big Dave returned. Simon looked back and forth between the three of them in confusion.

Mal spoke next "I'm not afraid of death; I just don't want to be there when it happens." **(2)**

Nods were shared all around except for Simon who was still looking lost.

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." Harry added to the discussion. **(3)**

"Too true" Big Dave said taking a slug of beer.

"Hit it on the head with that one Harry." Mal said.

The three men turned to Simon expectantly. Simon quoted the first thing to come to mind "The difference between genius and stupidity is; genius has its limits." **(4)**

Mal and Harry's eyes bugged out, while Dave paused with his beer halfway to his mouth. A second later he slammed the bottle on the table, he reached down to the floor, grabbed his mini-gun clicked off the safety and pointed it directly at Simon's chest "Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life." He snarled. **(5)**

Simon stared wide eyed at the six barrels pointing directly at him. He didn't take any notice of Harry trying to calm down the infuriated man or any notice of Mal hustling him out of the house. He was panting and sweating, he didn't come back to himself until he was halfway back to the ship. "Wait wait wait, what the hell happened back there?"

"I warned you didn't I? If you didn't know what to say then say nothing. Do you have any idea what almost happened?"

"No! I don't know what that _fei hua_ was. What language was that?" Simon demanded.

"You said you wanted to learn right, well we haven't even gotten to the negotiation, that was just shooting the breeze and now after you just called him stupid and his wife a whore who knows what kind of terms we're going to have to agree with to get this job." Mal explained pacing back and forth in front of Simon.

"I said that?" Simon said mortified.

"You damn sure did."

"I..I have to apologize to him." Simon turned back to the farm house but Mal grabbed his arm stopping his progress.

"What you have to do is get back to the ship, hopefully Harry has him calm enough that he's still willing to give us the job." Mal said jogging back to the house.

Simon's shoulders slumped as he watched Mal disappear. Simon morosely walked back to Serenity, as soon as he walked up the ramp he was met by the curious stares of Kaylee and Zoe.

"Some kind of trouble Doc?" Zoe asked.

"I think I really screwed up." Simon said, he explained what happened all the while looking at the floor in shame, his head snapped up when he heard muffled laughter. He was beyond indignant when he saw the broad smile on Zoe's face as well as Kaylee hiding her laughter behind her hand. "Is my humiliation a source of amusement for you?"

"Take it easy Doc it was the lost in translation gag." Zoe informed him.

"A gag as in a joke?"

"Unfortunately, I'm sorry Simon; it looks like they were just having some fun with you."

Simon turned as red as a beet before storming off towards the infirmary. Kaylee went after him to calm him down but her loud laughter seemed to defeat the purpose.

Back at the House Big Dave, Mal and Harry were on their second beer and still laughing. "Oh boy I haven't done the lost in translation in so long." Boy Dave said wiping the tears from his eyes. "Harry I'm glad you waved me earlier and gave me a warning; that felt good."

"It's a classic for a reason." Harry said draining his beer.

"Yes indeed an oldie but goldie, now how bout this job of yours Big Dave?" Mal asked.

Big Dave nodded in understanding "Fun's over, let's talk business."

**AN: That's it for chapter 2 everyone I hope you enjoyed it.**

**The Quotes were by 1) Robert A. Heinlein 2)** **Woody Allen 3) Albert Einstein 4) Albert Einstein and 5) Terry Pratchett**


	3. Chapter 3

**Space Wizard**

**AN: It was almost a unanimous decision on which girl Harry should be paired with, I wonder if I should tell or just leave it for a surprise. On with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Firefly; they are the property of J.K. Rowling and Joss Whedon.**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **

Harry and Mal shook hands with Big Dave on his porch saying their farewells.

"Tell your Doctor no hard feelings huh? I don't think he noticed the gun wasn't loaded." Big Dave said shaking Mal's hand and almost dislocating his shoulder.

"Don't worry about the Doc, I think me and Harry are going to feel the brunt of his displeasure." Mal said.

"No doubt about it, he already doesn't like me so I'm more likely to get it worse than even Mal." Harry said.

"Well it was _your_ idea." Mal said "Anyway, we'll send you a wave once the jobs done."

Big Dave nodded his bald head, "If all goes well, it won't be a big stink about this, not even a blip on the news bands. You boys be careful."

Mal and Harry turned and made their way back to Serenity, it was a silent walk until they were halfway there. "Since you brought the job to us, it's your show. We'll run it however you lay it out…within reason."

"Geez Mal, it sounds like you expect me to go in there guns blazing." The wizard said with a grin.

"Truth be told Harry, that wasn't a far off thought."

"Well put your mind at ease, I promise once we're done the building will still be standing."

"That did nothing to reassure me." Mal said giving Harry a side long glance.

Harry ignored the look, "I've been thinking on it, so far I'm seeing four of us on the ground and River in the pilots chair to get us out of there."

"Sounds good, we'll have a better idea of what we're dealing once we get to where we're going."

They went to back to companionable silence as they entered the docking bay and the ramp rolled up behind them.

"You get us in the air and I'll round up everybody." Mal ordered.

Nodding in ascent Harry went to the bridge, when he got there River was in the co-pilots seat with her knees drawn up to her chest. Harry took the Captains seat and fired up the engines. "You think Simon's still upset?"

"He's been strangling you in his mind for the last 30 minutes."

"That answers that, did you get any sleep?" He asked her.

"A couple of hours, it's usually all I get without meds." She said quietly.

"Learning to keep people out of your mind is going to be mentally taxing; it's best if you get natural sleep even if only a couple of hours."

"When can we start?" River asked eagerly.

"We can start after the crew meeting about our next job." They were a silent pair as Harry guided the ship off Balboa and towards Tian, a Rim planet a couple of days away. They had just cleared the atmosphere when Mal came over the loud speaker.

"Harry just put her in hover in an out of the way spot for now, then you and River come down to the kitchen."

Harry triggered the loud speaker, "We'll be there in ten."

When everyone was gathered around, Mal took out the data pad he got from Big Dave, "Our target is Edgar Poly, known as Roly Poly to his friends." Mal flipped to a picture of Edgar Poly then passed it around for everyone to get a look.

Edgar Poly was a man in his late 60s with a head full of all white hair slicked back like he just came out of the shower. It was easy to see how he got the nick name Roly Poly, he couldn't be more than 5 and a half feet tall and everything about him was round, from his round head to his round body to his round legs. If he was sitting down he would look like an unfinished snowman.

"Ain't that a colorful getup he's wearing?" Jayne said when he got a look.

It was true; in the picture Mr. Poly was wearing a lime green over coat with a matching tie, a red and green striped shirt and purple pants.

"Oh god, my eyes hurt looking at that monstrosity." Inara said turning away from the photo.

"That poor dog." Zoe lamented.

The dog Zoe was referring to was tucked into the crook of poly's right arm and it was wearing a matching sweater to Poly's jacket.

Mal broke in before the conversation could carry on, "Anyways, Poly has quite a few investments on Tian, his biggest cash cow is a casino called the Golden Clover."

"Sir, isn't that a bit ambitious? We don't have the manpower to knock over a casino." Zoe said.

"We're not going after the casino; we're going after Poly himself." Harry said from his spot next to Mal.

"Now this ain't our regular type of caper, but if we pull this off, we're looking at 300,000 cash money, minus %10 to Big Dave." Mal said with a smile.

"How bad we got to kill the guy for that kind of scratch? Do get to bring Vera?" Jayne asked rubbing his hands together.

"It's not that kind of job Jayne." Harry said.

"What kind of job is it? We ain't talking pocket money." Kaylee said.

Harry and Mal exchanged looks before Mal stepped and gestured to Harry that he had the floor. "You brought us the job, you explain it."

Taking a breath Harry laid out the job and his plan to pull it off. The longer he talked the farther their jaws dropped. When he finished it was as silent as empty space.

Jayne stood up, "I have to go think about all my life decisions up to this point." He said and walked away.

"Wow" Inara said also getting to her feet. "Just wow." Then following Jayne's example she retreated to parts unknown.

Zoe opened and closed her mouth several times before coming out with a simple "Sir?"

"Come on Zoe are we in this for the glitz and glammer or to stay in the air?" Mal asked a little indignant at the responses he was getting for a well-paid job offer.

"You're right and I'm fully behind doing the work, but still."

At least she didn't walk away.

Simon stood with a big smile on his face "I'm suddenly feeling a lot better, if anyone needs me I'll be in the infirmary."

Kaylee jumped up stammered something about checking the engine and raced out of the room.

A barely contained snicker drew all eyes to River who had her hand covering her mouth with unshed tears of mirth in her eyes. "_Et tu _River?" Harry asked solemnly.

That was all it took for River Tam to give over to her laughter.

Harry walked away with his shoulders slumped, he did it purposely to give River a little something extra to laugh at. It worked because a new round of laughter followed him all the way to the bridge. He was only alone for a minute when River came in wiping away her laughing tears. He smiled at her over his shoulder.

"Thank you for that."

"No problem, I would be a disgrace to the Marauder name if I couldn't laugh at myself."

"Marauder?" River asked taking the co-pilots chair once again.

"It was a nickname my dad and a group of his friends came up with while they were in school. They were famous for being pranksters." Harry set the Nav-system for Tian, when he confirmed they were on the right track, he switched on the auto-pilot and turned to River. "Are you ready to get started?"

"More than ready."

"Okay, give me a second." Harry left the bridge; he came back carrying two folded chairs and placed them in the center of the room. He beckoned River over to one while he sat in the other. "I snuck a peek at Simon's files about your condition, most of it was scientific gibberish but I got the gist of it, which was they completely removed the filter that would have given your mind a reprieve from the constant bombardment of everyone else's thoughts right?"

River nodded shakily, "From as far back as I could remember, I've always heard tidbits and snippets of thoughts here and there, but it wasn't until after they cut into my brain that I starting hearing everything all the time."

Harry nodded in sympathy, "How bad is it now? I know it's still hard on you but on a scale of 1-10, 10 being after the Alliance first operated on you."

"10" she replied easily.

"I'm going to have a look for myself to see what we're dealing with. Brace yourself, I'm going to pull back my dampening field, it's just so I can get the full effect." Harry added quickly when her eyes widened in panic. Harry scooted to the edge of his seat, "Take a deep breath, now let it out slowly, good and another." Harry voice gradually took on a slightly hypnotic tone.

"You're doing well; but you're still a little tense. Look in my eyes River." Harry said softly framing her face in his hands. "What color are my eyes?"

"Green" she said softly.

Harry smiled softly, "Is that the best you can do to describe them?"

"They're like a cut emerald."

"I got them from my mother; I've always heard I was an exact double of my father except for the eyes. Keep describing them." As he spoke Harry's hands slowly slid to the sides of River's throat, he used his thumbs to rhythmically massage her carotid artery.

"I've noticed…" River started to say but trailed off.

"What have you noticed?" Harry asked softly.

"I've noticed that your eyes sometimes reflect your mood. When I came in earlier they were bright with laughter, they shined like they were being held up against the sun. Other times when you're deep in thought they're very dim like someone is closing a fist around them."

"I hadn't realized I was that easy to read." From deep within him a lyrical trilling started up.

River's forehead scrunched up slightly before she asked "Do you hear a bird singing?"

"Beautiful isn't?" Before she could answer Harry slipped into her mind. Harry could have easily gotten into River's head without having to put her under the slight hypnosis, but he didn't want to chance her going into shock or seizing up from the deliberate intrusion before he could assess the damage. Even if he gave her a warning before delving into her mind her instinct to protect herself would be strong enough that Harry would have to make repeated attempts or to fight and over power her mind which wouldn't be good for anyone.

So with Fawkes keeping her conscious mind relaxed with his song, Harry was free to slip in unnoticed. When Harry's metaphysical feet hit the ground he was in a dark tunnel, in the distant he could hear muffled screaming and he could see a shaft of light showing him the way. The closer he got to the light the louder and clearer the screams became. When Harry stepped out of the dark tunnel he was surprised to see that River's mindscape was the Roman Coliseum and it was packed. He flinched when the volume of the crowd increased to deafening levels; Harry looked around frowning and wondered how the hell River could survive all these voices at once, he had a new respect for the young Tam, she was obviously magnitudes stronger than she was given credit for.

Harry was still looking around the stadium wondering how he was going to begin helping River clean up her mind when he saw her.

Kneeling in the center of the stadium in a stained white dress with her hands clamped over her ears and her eyes screwed shut was River.

Harry had never seen anything so heart wrenching in all his years. For River, to have to deal with this day in and day out and still be semi functional was amazing. He resolved himself then and there to do anything in his power to help River put an end to her suffering. Harry started walking towards River and the closer he got the more muted the crowd got.

Noticing the noise was lessening, River opened her eyes and looked around. Harry was walking towards her; determination in his every step. When he was finally standing in front of her and the voices were completely silent again, she threw herself against his chest and cried in joy.

Harry held her and allowed her mental image of herself to cry into his chest. He pulled away and looked into her tear streaked face. "I'm going to help you River, I promise, I'm going to do everything in my power to help you."

"How?" she asked desperately "Look at this, my heads a mess."

"The first thing you have to do is take charge of your mind. Look at you," Harry gestured at her dirty peasant dress.

River looked down at the filthy dress and pulled at the frayed hem in embarrassment.

"This is your mind, you make the rules, but here you are wallowing in misery, in the dirt like a slave. Look at them" Harry pointed at the screaming savage faces of the crowd. "You're stronger than them River, you've already proven that because you haven't given in and fallen off the deep end completely." Harry gently grabbed her by the shoulders "You chose the Roman Coliseum as your mindscape, so where should you be?"

They both turned and looked at an empty balcony where Emperors and Nobles would preside over special events.

"Where should you be River?" Harry asked again.

Right in front of him the change started, the miserable defeated look was gone. In its place was determination and a good amount of pissed off. Then they were no longer in the center of the stadium, they were in the balcony. She even changed their clothes, River was now wearing a pure white short-sleeve tunic and over that was a navy blue stola** (1)** around her waist was a pure gold chain link belt. Her hair was done up in a bunch of intricate curls and piled on top of her head and decorated with jewels of different kinds. Harry was given an elaborate toga as well, with the end piece that draped across his chest being the same color green as his eyes.

The noise had returned and they were now right in the thick of it, but River didn't falter she stood tall with her head held regally and her back straight. He watched her as she scanned the crowd; he knew she found what she was looking for when her eyes narrowed. Appearing in the center of the stadium was a man in a black suit and tie, starched shirt and blue gloves.

"What are going to do?" Harry asked.

A loud roar silenced the screaming crowd, leaping from an underground cell a gargantuan tiger galloped out and raced towards the now fleeing and terrified man in blue gloves.

"When in Rome." River said with a smile.

With another roar the tiger had finally caught it and began dragging it kicking and screaming back to its enclosure. It was only after that spectacle was over that Harry noticed the previously ravenous crowd was now utterly silent. He smiled and slipped out of River's mind. When Harry came back to himself River was already in his arms thanking him over and over again. "It's a start, we're in this together now, and I'm not going anywhere."

Harry let her cling to me him while he rubbed her back reassuringly. After a while her breathing evened out signaling she was asleep. Harry set out his senses to make sure no one was nearby, and then he picked River up bridal style and flashed them to her bunk. After tucking her in to bed Harry flashed back to the bridge.

"_**You're a little shook up Harry, how bad was it?" **_The fire bird asked from within Harry's mind.

"_That is one strong woman Fawkes. She has so many memories and thoughts going at once, anyone one else would have killed themselves to escape it by now or at the very least be a vegetable."_

"_**Is that admiration I hear?"**_

"_You're damn right I admire her."_ Harry thought back mentally. _"We've only scratched the surface so far, I didn't see any specific memories just a lot of screaming voices and faces. She managed to silence one and that seemed to give her a reprieve."_

"**It sounds like this girl is going to need a lot of work Harry, if the damage is really as extensive as you think it is we're talking possibly years of mental training she is going to have to undergo."**

"_I've got time."_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **

It was slow progress with River but progress none the less. There was a minor set-back, according to River, after she woke up from her first session the voices had come back with a vengeance, seeming louder than ever. Harry was glad to see that instead of regressing, she was more determined to silence each and every one for good, especially after her first bit of success.

They had landed on Tian a short while ago; it was silent throughout Serenity, it was the calm before the storm. Harry was in the docking bay with a small arsenal spread out on a work table in front of him. He was scraping a stainless steel throwing knife against a whetstone when Zoe came in toting a 3ft long black case. She took one look at his table and smiled.

"Boys and their toys."

"Oh come on Zoe," Harry said with an answering grin. "You know you want to play with them."

She didn't say anything just sat opposite him at the table; she undid the latches on the case and flipped up the lid.

Harry whistled appreciatively, nestled in the gray foam of the case was a Bronson Convert Sniper rifle. It was the latest and greatest from the Bronson fire arm company, it was called a convert because it was capable of firing laser rounds or .50 cal bullets with equal accuracy. "Aiya! How did you get your hands on that gem?"

"I know some people that know some people." Zoe said smirking at the jealous glint in Harry's eyes.

"You know that's such a big gun for a delicate space flower such as yourself, why don't you let me hold on to that?" Harry said teasingly reaching for over the table for it.

Zoe was quick to rap him on the knuckles with the flat side of a knife she pulled from nowhere. "Hands off, this is mine and you can't play with it."

"Meanie" Harry said sticking his tongue out at her. Harry picked up the throwing knifes he was working on and went to stand in front of a stack of crates he had set up earlier. He stood about 20 feet back, he threw them in quick succession one after the other. _'Thunk, thunk, thunk'_

"What have you been up to in the passing years?" Zoe asked as she broke down the Bronson for maintenance.

"Same as always, travel, work and travel some more." He answered as he retrieved his weapons. "I tried to stay grounded in one spot a couple of times, but the longest that ever lasted was 2 months before I was back in space."

"You're a mystery Harry, you spent a year on Serenity and it felt like a life time. Now your back and I realize I didn't really know you that well before you left." Zoe's voice was laced with curiosity.

'_Thunk, thunk, thunk'_ "Well I'm a semi opened book. What do you want to know?"

"Something easy, where'd you learn to fly?"

"Nowhere really, I'm a natural, some people said I got from my father, he loved to fly same as me." Harry replied easily.

Zoe turned to look at Harry with a raised eyebrow, "I thought your folks died when you was a babe?"

"They did, but I heard this second hand from his friends and people that knew him. They said he was a natural flyer too and that he loved to showboat. But when it counted he could do some of the most amazing things in the air and make it look easy." Harry said.

"What was your mom like?"

"I got two things from my mother, these eyes." Harry said pointing at his face "and a bad temper. She wasn't quick to anger, but when she did lose it, you'd want to dig a foxhole and wait it out."

"Sounds like my type of woman." Zoe said turning back to her rifle maintenance.

'_Thunk, thunk, thunk'_ "You mind if I ask you a personal question Zoe, like _really_ personal?"

"I don't mind you asking, no guarantee I'll answer." She said guardedly.

Harry retrieved his knives then went back to the table and sat across from his old friend. "Fair enough, how are you doing?" he didn't have to say anything beyond that. That was a standard question to ask someone after suffering a loss like Zoe's, she probably heard thousands of times by now.

Zoe's fingers paused as they were reassembling the Bronson, her lips stretched in a sad half smile. "I knew that was coming eventually." She sighed sadly "I'm doing better as time passes; I've forgiven myself and Wash. I was angry at him for dying and angry at myself for letting him die. Now'n days I can think about him and not have it hurt so much. My only regret is that we had so little time together."

"It's never enough time. 100 years or 1,000, it was never gonna be enough." Harry said quietly.

Zoe saw that Harry's eyes had gone vacant like he was looking off in the past. _'Was Harry married before?'_ Zoe suddenly thought. He never so much as hinted that he had ever tied the knot before. She was about to ask him straight out when Jayne yelled down from the upper deck.

"Cap'n wants us all in the dining room right quick, said he wants to put the final touches on tonight's plans." He said before going back the way he came.

Zoe and Harry silently packed up their weapons and went to meet the rest of the crew. They were the last to enter; Mal was standing in front of the vid screen looking at the different angled shots of Poly's property that he got from Big Dave. It was a big square white house in the middle of a large spread of grassland. Leading to the front door was a paved road and on either side of the road was a manicured lawn and bush sculptors of dogs, at the end of the long driveway was a tall iron gate with equally tall stone walls. Providing a natural defense was a densely populated forest on the East and South sides of the property and protecting the West was a small mountain range with a jagged Cliffside.

"As far as security goes it's not very high-tech. Mr. Poly relies mainly on the terrain's natural defenses and his 8 permanent guards to keep the bad element away. There are only two cameras pointing outside and they're at the top of the front gate." Mal hit a button on the vid frame. The scene changed to a recording of the guard's positions and check points. "Three guards roam the outside of the property with hourly check-ins. There's a guard room on the Southwest side of the house, 3 guards inside watching monitors; that leaves two upstairs guarding Poly's door all night. We go in after the midnight check-in which gives us an hour window of opportunity." Mal clicked off the vid screen off and turned to the rest of the crew.

"Little darling what's your part in this?" he asked.

"Lift and clear radar range before circling back around to hover near Poly's place." River answered promptly.

Mal nodded "Kaylee, what do you do before River gets back in radar range?"

"Switch out Serenity's transponder signal, with a fake just in case someone's keeping track."

"Shiny. How bout the ground crew?" Mal asked.

"Enter from the East, take out the guard then meet up with you at the back door." Harry said.

"Alright we're 3 for 3. Zoe?"

"I'm watching your backs from the cliffs on the West side; making sure the North side guard doesn't get trigger happy." Zoe replied professionally.

Jayne rolled his eyes; they had gone over this 20 times already. "I go in with you from the South end; once we get inside I take out the guard room and keep an eye out for the last two guards while you empty the vault."

"Inara?"

"Make sure the ramp is down and the doors are opened because you will be coming in hot."

Jayne giggled.

"Really Jayne?" Inara said irritated.

"You said it not me."

"Enough of that. Doc?" Mal said to Simon.

"Stand by in the infirmary."

"Alright and last step is evac. If all goes well, we'll be in and out and away from there in under half hour, we'll leave the same way we came only a lot faster. But if things go wrong." Mal said looking to River.

"Pick up Zoe and the mule first then swing down on to the driveway for the rest of you."

Mal eyeballed his crew and after a minute he nodded to himself, "That's about as ready as we're going to get, everyone get some sleep. It's going to be a long night."

With that ringing endorsement the meeting broke up.

Hours later it was almost the magic hour. After Zoe dropped him off quite a distance away, Harry had inched his way slowly under the cover of darkness to his current spot. He was lying on his stomach hidden in the dark shadows of the tree line eyeing the slowly pacing guard that was his target. He stole a glance at his watch 11:59.

"_Check in time, Carlo?"_

"_This is Carlo, all clear."_

"_Roy?"_

"All clear" Harry's target spoke into a microphone attached to his shoulder. As soon as he released the mike button Harry fired. The guard squawked in surprise and then collapsed forward with a tranq dart in his neck. Harry pressed a finger to his ear, "East side guard down."

"_South-side guard's down, get moving."_

Harry stashed the tranq gun in the duffle bag he had slung across his body and ran full out from the shadows to the back corner of the house were hopefully Mal and Jayne would be meeting him soon.

Harry peaked around the corner and sure enough, two figures were silhouetted in the moonlight headed for the back door. Harry pressed a finger to his ear again. "I'm coming around the East-side corner now."

"_I see you; we'll meet you at the back door." _Mal said back immediately.

Seconds later the three members of Serenity were crouching together around an out of date security key pad with a flashing red light. Mal punched in the code _7946,_ the light turned green and then the lock clicked, Jayne carefully turned the knob and looked around the door jamb, seeing that it was all clear he waved Mal and Harry in to the kitchen.

The kitchen was all stainless steel counter tops and appliances; it looked like a professional chef's wet dream. They didn't stick around to admire the décor; they headed for the darkened hallway only stopping long enough for Jayne to split off and go for the guard room.

Mal and Harry opened a door just off the kitchen that led down to the cellar. It was cold almost freezing, they kept walking until they came to a big steel door that looked like it belonged on a bank vault. On the wall next to the door was another keypad with another flashing red light '_7946'_ another green light went on, Harry spun the wheel in the center of the door until it clicked, and Mal had to help him pull it open it was so heavy. Just as it was big enough to walk in red lights and klaxons started blaring loud enough to rupture eardrums.

When Harry took his hands from his ears he could hear the faint crackle of gunfire being exchanged. Harry thrust his duffle bag at Mal "Fill it up, I'll go help Jayne!" he yelled over the blaring sirens. Harry raced to the top of the cellar steps pulling his side piece as he went; at the top of the stairs Jayne was crouched on the opposite side of him firing towards the front door. The return fire took chunks out of the wall Jayne was hiding behind but Jayne himself was unharmed if that goofy grin was anything to go by. "What happened, how did the alarm get triggered?"

"That sleep grenade doesn't work as fast as it's advertised, instead of falling down and taking a nap, those bastards started staggering around and one of them hit the alarm." He paused to squeeze off a quick salvo. "I just seen one of them upstairs guards so far, number two is probably staying with the fat-man."

There were no sirens on the top floor just gun shots, he tapped his ear piece "Zoe, what's happening outside?"

"Nothing, I got the lone guard pinned behind some bushes, he's not going anywhere." She said calmly. "River's on her way, I can see the ships lights, I'm hightailing it back to the mule, we'll be ready for your pick up in 5 minutes."

"That's good to hear, Mal should be finishing up, we'll meet you out front." Just as he said that Mal was coming up behind him with a full duffle bag. "We get it?"

Mal patted the bulging bag, "We got it." He said with a smile.

"Okay, we got pick up in 4 minutes. Jayne the next time he stops to reload we're going to rush him. I'll take point, and then Mal and then you bring up the rear."

"That'll work for me." Jayne said dropping a clip and putting in a fresh one.

"I'm right behind you Harry." Mal said

Harry waited for the bullets to stop pinging into Jayne' hiding spot, he didn't go out until he heard the distinct 'thump' of an empty magazine hitting the floor. He sprang from the cellar door and strode out from his hiding place firing a steady stream of bullets at the guard. Whether he was surprised that Harry would make such a large target of himself or the fact that there was another shooter was unknown, but his eyes widened before diving out of sight behind the wooden banister of the staircase that led to the second level.

Harry heard the slam of a heavy door near where the guard retreated to. When he cleared the banister Harry saw a heavy wooden door straight ahead and emptied a clip into it. He pulled open the front door and motioned for Jayne and Mal to go ahead of him while he watched their backs. Harry walked backwards towards Serenity's ramp reloading as he went; he kept his eyes on the front door just in case that guard tried to get off a desperation shot. A muzzle flashed off his left and pain seared his arm._ 'That sneaky bitch.'_ Harry thought with gritted teeth before emptying his clip on the window the guard fired from. When his gun was empty Harry ran the short distance to Serenity's ramp.

"River we're clear, get us out of here!" Mal ordered through the P.A.

They weren't out of the woods yet, there was still a chance; things good go from bad to worse. 15 nerve racking minutes later, River's calm voice came over the P.A. "No pursuits or law waves, we're clear Captain."

There was a round of applause and laughter for a job well done. The good cheer moved from the docking bay to the dining area where Mal called Big Dave with the good news. "Hey Big guy, guess who?"

"Hey Mal how'd things turn out?"

"We made a little noise getting out but that's it." Mal said shrugging off the fire fight.

"And the codes and the guard rotations were still good weren't they?" Big Dave asked with a knowing smirk.

"You were absolutely right, he was too arrogant to change the codes or his routine after he fired you and that just caused him $300,000."

"You said it, y'all lay low while I sort out the meeting place, it will be nearby so don't go too far."

"I'll wait to hear from you." Mal said and ended the call.

"I still can't believe we did this job." Jayne said "All this trouble for that" he said pointing at the bulging duffle still slung around Mal's body.

"Not this again." Mal growled.

"I haven't felt this low since I dumped that payola on dem mudders on Canton. I've done jobs from kidnapping to banks but I ain't never been desperate enough to still frozen dog splooge." Jayne said in disgust.

"Doc, take these…specimens and put then on ice will ya?"

Simon took the bag from the Captain and he and Kaylee walked off down the corridor towards the med ward glad the exciting part was over.

"Harry help me out here." Mal looked for his dark haired co-conspirator, but was left to explain things by himself.

"He took a hit as he was getting on the ramp; he probably went to tend to it." Zoe explained.

Mal sighed and tried to explain it to the simple gun hand. "Jayne that's how Poly made enough money to fund his casino, people pays big money for pure bred dogs. Big Dave said Poly had his dog neutered some while ago and what Simon is putting in his med freezer was his insurance policy, now we got it and he's gonna pay to get it back."

"I don't know Mal it don't sound…honorable."

"Jayne think about it like this. I'm gonna put honor in your one hand and then I'm gonna put $38,000 in the other, which one of those do you expect the ladies'll like you more for?" Mal asked.

"Well why didn't you just explain it like that before? Here I am, doubting my existence and there's money to be spent on booze and whores." Jayne said shaking his head in disappointment at his Captain. While Inara and Zoe laughed at Jayne's abrupt about face.

Mal massaged his temples to stave off the incoming headache.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **

Harry eyed the wound on his arm, it was more of a graze really, and the bleeding had already stopped. He looked at the other scars he collected. There was one from a knife across his stomach just above his navel. There was a bullet wound in his right bicep, a laser burn on his right hip and a few more. After his bonding with Fawkes, Harry didn't scar unless he wanted to. Every scar he kept was from one of the many fights he had been in over the years. The scars kept him grounded, it kept his arrogance at a distance. With all the power at his disposal as well as experience, it's possible if he put in the effort he could do some real damage across the Verse. But that's not what he wanted, he didn't want to be a behind the scenes manipulator like Dumbledore and he didn't want to conquer any worlds like Voldemort. Every scar was a reminder that he could bleed and he could hurt like the rest of the Verse. It was a reminder of his humanity.

The door to Harry's swooshed open.

"I figured you wouldn't go to the Doc about that so I brought you a med kit." Zoe said stepping in to the room.

"It's only a scratch, no reason to bother the good doctor for a band aid." Harry said rummaging in his bag for disinfectant spray even if he didn't need it.

"Here" Zoe said holding out a bottle.

"Thanks, so what's the word?"

"The Cap'n got word to Big Dave; he figures we'll be on stand by for a couple of days before the exchange goes down. So for now we just drift and wait for the call." She explained.

"Sounds good." Harry fixed a bandage to his arm and turned back to Zoe to hand back the disinfectant.

Her eyes strayed to his left pec, to the tattoos there. There were two of them, a large crescent moon and laying on the bottom of that moon in a relaxed pose was a lioness.

"She must have been something special." Zoe said softly.

"_They_…they were something special."

Zoe looked at him with a raised eyebrow but no judgment.

"There was never a ceremony but the three of us were married in our eyes and in our hearts."

"100 years or 1,000 isn't enough time huh?" she said repeating his own words from earlier back to him.

"No it isn't."

Harry held Zoe's gaze and lowered his head slowly seeking her lips, he wouldn't rush her, if this wasn't something she wanted than it would just be one of those things that was never talked about between friends.

Zoe surprised him when she closed the gap between their lips, she attacked with intensity and after a brief hesitation he joined her in the back and forth battle for dominance. One of his hands snaked around her slim waist while his other hand palmed the back of her head through her curly locks.

They separated and looked into each other's eyes. Smokey hazel eyes looked into calm emerald greens for several seconds before they came together again with even more ferocity. Harry unbuckled Zoe's brown vest, pulled it off her shoulders and dropped it to the floor. He reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it upward she pulled it the rest of the way. Zoe was bare beneath; she groaned when Harry lowered his head and flicked her chocolate nipple with the tip of his tongue.

Zoe's senses were on fire. It had been so long since she had felt like this. She gave a shuddering sigh when Harry's hot mouth engulfed the tip of her breast. She grabbed a fistful of hair in each of her hands and pulled him closer trying to get him to take more of her, he obliged without hesitating. She pulled him away from her chest kissed him hard one more time before turning so that his back was to the bed, then she attacked the button and zipper of his pants, just as she pulled the top of his pants open the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed and he went down.

Harry sat on the edge of the bed staring at Zoe through a haze of lust, she looked Harry in the eyes, took a step back and then put her boot clad foot on his leg. Without a word or losing eye contact he pulled down the zipper on the outside of her boot and pulled it off, the other boot followed just as silently. Harry reached down to loosen the straps of his own boots when he stopped mid movement to watch Zoe unfasten her leather belt, she dropped it to the floor next to her. Her pants were made of some kind of stretchy material, they slid right down her legs and pooled at her feet, she stepped out of them and towards Harry.

Still looking Harry in the eyes she tugged at the top of his pants until he lifted his hips and allowed her to pull them down to his knees. His cock jutted proudly between them and with unerring accuracy Zoe gripped the base of it in her fist and stroked him slowly. Harry's cock jerk reflexively to the attention it was getting. "You shouldn't do that much longer unless you want to call it a night." Harry whispered through gritted teeth.

Zoe's only reply was a smirk before climbing in Harry's lap with her knees braced on the outside of his thighs. She guided Harry's cock to her entrance and slowly sank on to it; they let out mutual hisses of pleasure at the sensation. Harry was beyond lost in the feeling of Zoe's hot, wet center. The pleasure magnified when Zoe slowly went up and down in his lap before picking up speed. Harsh breathing and wet sucking sounds filled Harry's room. Zoe's nails dug into Harry's shoulders as her movements and her breathing became more frantic, her nails dug into his shoulder hard enough to make him wince, her folds tightened around his member and her movements became jerky. Her eyes were screwed shut and she was biting her lip to keep from crying out.

Harry allowed her to get her breathing under control before lifting her from his lap and sitting her next to him. He deftly unbuckled his boots then stood and shimmied out of his pants. He turned to her and stood for a second proudly displaying his still hard cock, slick with her juices. Without a word he kissed her harshly and fell on top of her. In one move he was inside her slick welcoming folds. He moved in long strokes as deep as he could go before retreating and going deep again, Zoe's hips moved to meet him each time and her soft gasps in his ear was a melody. Even slowing his pace Harry knew he wasn't going to last much longer, he sped up. It was hard and fast. Her gasps became more pronounced as he powered into her. As Harry felt the moment of release come closer he moved faster and more forcefully. Again, Zoe's nails dug into Harry's shoulders and again her folds tightened on his cock but this time instead of reaching her climax alone Harry joined her, his hot seed spurting inside Zoe prolonging her shudders. Harry reluctantly pulled out and collapsed next to Zoe and stared up at the ceiling of his room.

"Thank you Harry" Zoe said softly.

"You're welcome seems kind of insufficient."

Zoe shook her head from side to side. "It's perfect."

"Then you're welcome Zoe."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX **

**AN: That's it for chapter three, like I said out of all the reviews I got it was pretty unanimous who they wanted to see Harry with. Let me know what you think. **


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